Food Substitutes for Food Allergies

Living with food allergies can be made easier once you realize there is no reason why you need to miss-out on eating your favorite foods.

Planning ahead and researching where you can find the right food substitutes for food allergies should stop your food allergy from taking over your life. In this article we will explore what those food substitutes are.

Milk Substitutes

If you are allergic to milk, you will not only avoid milk but all dairy products and anything that has cow’s milk proteins in it such as yogurt, butter, cheese, cream, custard, ice cream, pudding, white sauces, baked foods, donuts, malted milk and even some salad dressings.

If you have a milk allergy, you can substitute milk with soy, rice or almond milk instead. You will also find non-dairy ice cream, chocolate; cheese and yogurt are also available using these alternative products. If you are eating a balanced diet then you should be getting enough vitamins and nutrients from these food substitutes.

Peanut Substitutes

If you have a severe allergy to peanuts, tree nuts and nut-based products you may need to check with your doctor before trying a food substitute. The good news is, if you or the children like peanut butter you will be pleased to learn there are food substitutes to food allergies to nuts. Try replacing it with sunflower seed butter or soy nut butter. Make sure the label clearly states “peanut free”, “tree nut free” and “processed in a peanut and tree nut free facility”.

Another great vegetable substitute for peanut and other nut butters is hummus. Made from chickpeas, hummus is a rich source of protein. Unfortunately, if you are allergic to peanuts, you may also be allergic to chick peas, so it is best to check with your allergist and test for this as well. For a crunchy snack, try munching on sunflower seeds or dried soybeans they are great alternatives to peanuts.

For wheat allergies, you can use ingredients such as rice flour, potato starch, soy flour, tapioca flour or corn flour in place of wheat flour. You will find wheat-free pasta is readily available on the grocery shelves and breadcrumbs are easily substituted by using crumbled wheat-free crackers, cornmeal or shredded parmesan cheese instead.

Egg Substitutes

If you love to bake but are allergic to eggs you can use substitutes such as egg replacement, banana and applesauce. You can also mix water, vinegar and baking powder or water, baking powder and oil as an alternative to cooking with eggs.

So you see there are many food substitutes for food allergies and with a little pre-planning (in the beginning) you will find shopping for food becomes routine. Plus if your meals are prepared so the whole family can enjoy them you may find they even prefer the taste of the alternative product.